How much does it cost to make an app for a small business in 2026?
A custom app for a single-location small business costs $18,500 to $35,000 to build in 2026 and $495 to $1,250 a month to keep running. Those are Keepport's published prices; US agencies without templates typically quote $30,000 to $150,000. Add $99 a year for Apple, $25 once for Google, and budget 15 to 25 percent of the build cost per year for maintenance if you do not have a flat plan.
What you are actually paying for
An app is four things: design, the app itself on two platforms, a backend that stores your data, and the store listings. Agencies that quote hourly bill each of those separately, which is where the $50,000 surprises come from. A fixed-price build starts from a template for your industry, so the parts that are the same for every restaurant or every gym are already built and tested.
Keepport's price table by app type
| App type | Typical fixed price | Time to store |
|---|---|---|
| Salon or spa booking + loyalty | $18,500–$26,000 | 6–8 weeks |
| Gym or studio classes + memberships | $20,000–$28,000 | 6–8 weeks |
| Restaurant order-ahead + loyalty | $22,000–$30,000 | 6–8 weeks |
| Dental or clinic booking + intake | $24,000–$35,000 | 8–10 weeks |
| Home services booking + technician tracking | $25,000–$38,000 | 8–10 weeks |
| Custom scope after an App Plan | quoted | 8–14 weeks |
Every price includes iPhone and Android, design in your brand, an admin dashboard, one integration, store submission and 60 days of maintenance. You own the code and the store accounts.
What the surveys say
The Manifest surveyed 1,003 US small businesses that built an app: 32 percent spent under $10,000, 52 percent spent under $30,000 and were satisfied, and a third of the apps with quality problems cost under $5,000. Clutch's pricing directory shows most reviewed projects between $10,000 and $49,999. The lesson is consistent: the sweet spot for a first app is $15,000 to $30,000, and the cheapest quotes are where the regret lives.
The costs that are not in the quote
- Apple Developer Program: $99 a year. Google Play: $25 once.
- Payment processing: typically 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per transaction through Stripe.
- SMS reminders: about 1 cent per message. Push notifications are free.
- Hosting: $20 to $80 a month for a small-business backend.
- Maintenance: 15 to 25 percent of the build cost per year is the industry rule of thumb. Keepport's Care Essential is a flat $495 a month and includes engineering hours.
What about building it with AI?
AI tools have made prototypes cheap and real apps somewhat cheaper. They have not changed what breaks: store review, payment edge cases, OS updates and the backend that has to be secure. A $500 AI-generated app that handles your customers' cards is the new version of the $5,000 app from the survey. Use AI to test the idea; use an engineer who will still be there next September to ship it.